


Regrettably Your Rival

by RandomJaz



Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: F/M, Smut, mature content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:27:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 21,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25374640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomJaz/pseuds/RandomJaz
Summary: There are forces beyond good and evil that drive some apart. Sometimes, together. Tempers flare between Blossom and Princess as they come to realize this. Over a man, no less.Mature Content! Brick/Blossom Princess/Brick
Relationships: Brick/Blossom Utonium, Princess Morbucks/Brick
Comments: 34
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, guys! For those who have read some of my work before, welcome back. For new readers, welcome! Glad you're here!

I've always loved The Powerpuff Girls (and the Rowdyruff Boys) but never got around to writing something for them. Brick/Blossom has always been my favorite pairing in the series. So, here we are.

-Also, I'm writing the PPGs and RRB's as themselves, but they're adults and look like standard people. So, normal sized eyes, noses, fingers etc. They're still products of Chemical X and have superpowers, just they're human looking.-

As always, thank you for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts if you have a minute 😊

xxxxxx

"BLOSSOM!"

The screech could've shattered glass. But, Princess was sure to do it herself. Flying in through the window to a Coffee Shop, her mechanic wings sent shards towards every corner. Everyone else quickly ducked to the floor and under their tables.

With the exception of my friends. They all rolled their eyes and stayed seated. This wasn't new, they weren't anymore shocked than I was.

"Excuse me, Girls..." I apologized.

"I'll watch your stuff." Robin ate a doughnut hole, unfazed.

Before I could even get out of my chair, Princess lunged at me. Her dad paid for a new power suit after I broke her last one. She'd gone through quite a few this year. Another had to go, it seemed.

"Outside!" I snapped.

I slammed in to her, forcing her out of the coffee shop and away from innocent customers. Normally, I try my best to keep my cool and not invest too much energy in to her temper. However, today Princess's audacity hit a nerve.

She sucker-punched me, sending me straight through a billboard. "Smile! You're in Townsville" it read under a picture of my sisters and I.

Their portraits were fine. It was mine she destroyed. Plywood from what was my face splintered everywhere, falling down to the street below. Passing pedestrians scattered, ducking away from the debris.

Princess was off in the distance, waiting and ready.

"You don't have anything better to do on a Friday night?"

She gave an arrogant shrug in response. This brat was only getting started. I needed to take this out of town before Princess made a bigger mess than this was even worth.

Just needed a lure. And, I knew exactly the one to use.

"…actually, now, that I think about it." I stood up on the ledge of what remained of the billboard. "I'm not surprised."

Princess instantly got defensive.

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Well, you have all this free time. You should really get a boyfriend, or something. Oh, wait-"

She practically snarled. But, she took the bait. I bolted in to the air, making a beeline to the outskirts of town.

"Get back here you little bitch!" Princess wailed after me.

Her pride got the worst of her. She never learned.

A grown ass adult, and the stubborn brat still hadn't changed. In all fairness, maybe I was expecting too much of the juvenile 21-year-old. She never really ever grew up.

"To think he missed out on a prize like you." I rubbed salt in the wound, it was too easy.

Princess was already fuming. She took rejection so badly, as if it physically wounded her. It crippled her pride.

"Say that to my fucking face!"

She was trailing close behind. Right as she reached for me, I snatched her golden mechanical wing and swung her a full 360 degrees. The oversized brat got a hard toss.

A distant tree cushioned her landing. Princess crashed in to the branches.

"Done, yet?"

Flying out of the tree, Princess came straight for me with leaves still stuck in her curly hair and stupid tiara. Some scattered in the wind behind her, and I doubt she realized how ridiculous she looked. Like some kid fussing on the playground.

"Come back here and fight me!"

Princess was quickly in my face swinging, throwing punches. Her blood pressure may take her out before I had a chance to. It was pathetic.

"See, that's your problem." I told her. "Tantrums aren't cute."

I blocked her hits, sending Princess in to a rage. Finally, she landed a decent punch to my face and busted my bottom lip open a bit.

"Neither is that." She sneered haughty and suddenly far too content.

Blood trickled out. Now, I was mad.

"Oh, did I ruin your pretty face?" Princess batted her overly done up hazel, eyes at me.

"Doesn't matter." I wiped the blood away. "It's not my face he'll be kissing."

"You stupid little-He's supposed to be mine!"

She grabbed my hair. How clever and mature.

"See how much he likes you when you're bald!" She pulled and wouldn't let go.

This cat fight was beneath me. I dove us in to a nearby pond, plummeting straight down. We hit the water, and she let go. I flew up the second she lost her grip on me.

"No!" She wailed as the water short-circuited her suit."Nooo! Daddy just bought this one!"

I didn't realize I could do that. Her dad hadn't sprung for a water proof model? Really?

Now that she couldn't fly away, Princess was stuck in the water leaving her no other choice but to physically swim to shore. That useless suit weighed her down. She sputtered on water, flailing her limbs. I only stayed and watched to ensure she didn't drown over this.

"Still think Daddy can buy you superpowers?"

"I will be a Powerpuff girl!" Princess wailed, dragging herself out of the water dripping and pissed. "Just you watch!"

She stumbled forward, barely catching herself. Her makeup dripped down her face; curly hair slicked straight and stuck down her back.

"And, I'll be better than you ever were!" she panted in exhaustion.

"Money can't buy you everything, Princess."

She could wake up tomorrow with actual powers, and it still wouldn't change anything. Her heart was in the wrong place. It always would be.

I flew away, leaving a lone pink streak in the dusky sky.

Xxxxxx

Townsville was slowing down with dark rolling in soon. Flying sopping wet, I was hit with the windchill. It was freezing up this high.

I flew down in to a secluded alley. My short pink skirt and white camisole were soaked through. Everything was just stuck to me leaving very little to the imagination. This outfit was cute for a casual get together. It wasn't so practical to fight in.

In my defense, I hadn't gone out to fight.

"Damn it, Princess" I muttered. "Of all the days."

The early evening air had a chill to it and I shivered, wringing out my long hair. To make things worse, I heard something land behind me.

"Kind of chilly to be going for a swim, isn't it?"

"Rhetorical questions are so overplayed, aren't they?"

I didn't give Brick the satisfaction of showing him I rolled my eyes. I kept my back to him.

"Just sayin'." he defended.

He pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his ripped black jeans, red flannel button-down shirt blowing in a passing breeze. Cigarette between his lips, he lit the end with a zippo lighter.

"Hell of a fight she put up." He took his first drag. "Until she started tugging hair. Cheap bullshit."

"That's why I dunked her."

"Smart girl."

I finally looked at him.

"I'm a woman." I bluntly reminded him.

Brick gave me a not so subtle once over. His gaze got stuck on my legs a moment, then my chest. Finally, he was looking at me.

"I've noticed." He assured me, shit-eating grin creeping over his face.

Those red eyes were coy and troublesome. I shivered for reasons unrelated to the brisk breeze.

"You look cold. Wanna come over and towel off?" The offer preceded a suggestive leer. "Should probably get out of those wet clothes."

"Give me your phone."

I texted Robin.

"She has my purse." I explained. "Need her to hold on to it."

Finishing his cigarette, he crushed it in to the cement with his sneaker. Not once did he tear his eyes off me. He smirked like he found something so amusing.

"What?" I almost snapped.

"Does she have your jacket too?"

"...yeah. Why?"

He took off his flannel and gave it to me, keeping the black shirt he wore underneath.

"Might want to cover those." He suggested.

My white camisole was soaked completely, thus revealing my cotton pink bra. My nipples were hard and poking through.

"Pervert." I huffed, but took the shirt.

The sleeves were too long and the hem came down past my mid-thigh, covering my indecency and protecting just enough of me for the fly across the other side of town, where no one questioned a red and pink streak darting past the clouds.

Xxxxx

The house Brick shared with his brothers wasn't bad, but the part of town was. I normally kept a low profile when visiting this way. Mostly for my own sake.

No one ever dared give me a hard time. But, as a known crime fighter, this neighborhood didn't exactly welcome me with me open arms. And, my own would question my integrity for being here.

I questioned myself for being here.

However, there were select groups of men who didn't mind me. Brick never liked their lingering stares. Especially now. If looks could killed, bodies would've dropped like flies on the pavement.

"Got a problem?" Brick narrowed his eyes at a local gang member sitting on the street outside his house.

He'd been staring at my legs. Their kind were always out drinking and loitering around. Knowing damn well he couldn't take Brick, let alone both of us, the man scoffed.

"Nah, no problem man." He raised a beer bottle to his lips, looking away. "We good. Right, boys?"

The rest of the crew shook their heads in agreement and followed his example.

"Then mind your own fucking business." Brick warned.

He unlocked his front door, motioning with his head for me to get in. Boomer and Butch were on the couch playing video games, as was a typical Friday for them.

"Sup, guys." Boomer greeted, eyes on the screen and not really paying attention to his surroundings. "Blossom's here early."

The only reason he knew I was here too was he heard his brother's little spat outside the door.

"...the hell happened to you?" Butch grunted when I walked by.

"Morbucks is a bitch."

"Don't I know it."

I flew upstairs and directly to Brick's room. All the wet clothes came off immediately. I went to his bathroom and stripped, leaving everything to dry.

I ran a hot shower for myself, grateful to get in. The bathroom door opened. Brick brought me a fresh towel, leaving it on the sink.

"Not very evil of you." I piped up.

"I'm off duty."

"Aren't you considerate?"

Brick leaned one shoulder up against the bathroom wall while I washed away my encounter with the notorious rich kid of Townsville.

"What was that you were saying about rhetorical questions, earlier?" He flicked the shower curtain. "Huh?"

Shampoo in hand, I lathered my hair.

"Ugh, the pond made my hair smell like algae." I complained. "Disgusting."

"At least you got to keep it."

"Fair."

I lathered harder until I was sure it was clean and rinsed. The water turned off and I held my hand out for the towel. Brick handed it to me.

"First aid kit is in the medicine cabinet." He said.

I stepped past him to the mirror, inspecting the number Princess did to my lip. It wasn't bad. Just a small cut not bleeding anymore.

"You could be black and blue, and that face could still give Morbucks a run for her money."

"Don't you mean her daddy's money?"

Wetting a cotton ball with antiseptic, I cleaned the cut.

"Can't believe she went for my face."

"She's a catty cunt. Doesn't surprise me."

We briefly met eyes in the mirror. Brick raised a brow with interest.

"I could kiss that better." He told me.

"Somehow, I don't think a villain could."

I tossed the cotton ball in the trash and left.

"Where's that shirt I like?" I opened one of Brick's drawers. "The big red cotton one with the short sleeves."

"Over there."

Towards the head of the bed it was folded and waiting for me. It came down above my knees. I toweled dried my hair. My scalp was tender where she yanked.

"You look pissed." Brick observed.

"She nearly ripped my hair out. There's actual crime to deal with, and Princess is wasting my time lately." I complained. "You villains are aggravating."

"Wouldn't so much call her a villain, as I would a fucking pain in the ass."

"Whatever you wanna call her." I dismissed.

Brick shrugged disinterestedly.

"I've never cared enough, Babe."

I gently used a comb to fix my damp hair, thoroughly done with this topic.

"I'm taking a nap."

xxxxxx

I fell asleep, waking up to a dark room later. The bed shifted under someone's weight. Brick climbed in behind me. I could smell the soap from his shower.

He was a night owl, so it must've been late if he was turning in for bed now. I couldn't hear his brothers hollering over the game system downstairs, anymore.

"What time is it?" I stifled a yawn.

"Past two."

That explained it. They were probably both in bed falling asleep with their T.V's on if they weren't passed out already. Brick plugged his phone in to charge and rolled over towards me. He came in close behind. I could feel his body heat through this borrowed shirt.

Amongst other things.

"Hey." he kissed the back of my neck.

"What?"

He chuckled lowly. And, I'd always loved the sound. Good guys didn't sound like that. The hairs at the nape of my neck stood on end pleasurably.

"Don't 'what' me." Brick's hand trailed up my thigh to my hip, bringing the hem of my shirt with it. "Come here."

"If I don't?"

"Where's the fun in that?"

I scoffed, but rolled over towards him. There was still space between us. Very little. But, some. I was lying right next to him.

"Closer." He brought my leg around his waist, dragging me in the last couple of inches.

I was flush against him. Brick dragged his warm palm over my thigh to my ass. He squeezed the flesh there.

"Isn't that better?" His breath smelled like the mouthwash he used after brushing his teeth. "I think so."

"Now what?" I goaded him.

Slowly, he slid his hand between our bodies.

"I could think of something."

I bit my inner lip when he reached me. He rubbed between my legs. It didn't take long for him to feel silky wetness form at his fingertips. I softly rocked in to his hand, squeezing his body with the leg I had curled around him.

"That's a good girl." Brick smirked against my cheek.

He kept his touch light and steady, eating up the sound of me getting hot and bothered. I was started to pant. His lips grazed the corner of my mouth, ready to part along mine. I turned my face away.

This was one of many of his attempted kisses I'd rejected. All of them, for that matter. It never stopped him from trying.

"Can't say I appreciate that cold shoulder." He kissed at my neck instead, ghosting my skin with his hot breath. "When you going to drop that?"

I ignored him, moving harder in to his fingers as he touched me. I was just about to give when he took his hand back.

"Now what?" He mocked me, sucking his finger clean.

"Seriously?"

"Oh, I'm sorry; Did you want me to play nice? Practice what you preach, then."

I climbed on top of him, sitting myself on his thigh. All he had on for bed were boxers. I ground in to his bare skin.

"I'll finish myself." I tossed my hair over one shoulder. "I don't need you."

"Whatever you say. That's still my thigh, Babe."

Contrary to my relinquishment of Brick's role here, he still touched me. He traced circles over my shirt with his thumbs, playing with my nipples through the fabric while I ground down on to his leg. My hips moved, mimicking a sensual rhythm he was quite familiar with.

"That's it." He encouraged me. "Fuck, I love it when you're horny."

I wasn't supposed to be here, especially not for this. And, I kept coming back.

I was supposed to be better than this. I couldn't bring myself to care right now. Brick slipped his hands up under my shirt, touching my breasts directly while I rode his leg. He played with my nipples, lightly pinching and rolling them until I was just at the edge.

It wasn't enough, however. And, he knew that. I stopped to take a breath. This wasn't getting me where I needed to go.

"Change seats." Brick offered, his voice had taken on that husky drawl. "Might get you farther."

He tugged the hem of my shirt to try and lure me forward. He was so smug about it, I considered saying no. But, the offer was too good to refuse. I crawled up his body until I had a knee on either side of his head.

He made me toss the shirt. So, there I was naked and mounted over his face using the headboard for balance.

I'd been horrified the first time he asked me to do this. Practically sitting on someone's face just seemed so vulgar and not lady like...If I was being honest with myself, that's why it turned me on. Brick brought out the worst in me.

Gripping the headboard, I felt my face flare up when wet heat lashed out between my legs without warning. I gasped, quickly recovering and easing down closer to his mouth. I shut my eyes, whimpering to myself from his tongue strokes.

He flicked it against me, caressing up my sides with his hands. I rocked my hips gently against his swirling tongue. My thighs began trembling on either side of his head.

"A-Ah, a little h-harder." I panted to which he quickly obliged.

I could faintly hear the soft wet sound of him licking me in the quiet of the night. I was so worked up from earlier and on clown nine about to burst in to climax any second now.

"Brick…" I whispered under my breath. "I'm almost there…"

I swiveled my hips, concentrating until hitting the peak. I shuddered pleasurably, slowing my movements ready to ease myself off his face. He wouldn't let me get up.

In the falling climax, each flick of his tongue felt too intense. I flinched, feeling my body give a quick jolt each time.

"Brick." I tried again.

I got a perverse, almost sinister chortle in response. That moment served as a reminder that with me, Brick was a dangerous combination of eager to please, and sadistic.

"Hold on tight." He warned me.

He promptly went to town on me in a calculated oral assault. With the tip of his tongue he traced precise, almost languid circles over my sensitive flesh- picking up speed as I involuntarily squirmed atop of him.

I held back pleasured cries with every fiber of my being, whimpering under my breath. The walls here were only so thick, and I'd just about die if either of his brothers heard me.

"Nng-" My nails scraped the smooth polish of the headboard where I clenched. "Mm-...a-ah...a-ahh..."

Brick suckled my clit between his lips, stopping to flick it quickly in short spurts. He kept on until my entire body seized and gave involuntary spasms. I was red in the face, overwhelmed with pleasurable waves of aftershock.

So much so that I almost screamed. I finished strong. Hushed cries crawled up my throat, tumbling out with desperation. I could feel that crooked grin under me.

"Okay, you happy now?" I asked once I caught my breath a little. "Phew...thought I was going to scream for a second there."

I tried again to move, only to find my hips still cemented in place.

Brick pressed a kiss to my intimate flesh, tongue snaking out. He tightened his grip on my hips. My blood ran cold when I realized what was about to happen.

"No, no, no, no, no-" I immediately panicked, trying to rip myself away.

It was simply too late. He plunged his tongue inside me this time. I gripped the headboard with white knuckles, shaking and desperately trying to pull myself up. But, he was stronger than I was. I wasn't getting away.

It was all an intense blur after that.

He forced me to cum, I'm not even sure how many times. I just remembered shaking and holding my breath, not getting enough air. Tears streamed down my face, and my orgasms eventually sounded close to sobbing. I was begging to be let go.

"Brick, I'm gonna scream..." I whined through clenched teeth. "Please-"

I couldn't hold it back much longer. By some cruel grace, Brick finally let go before I could disturb the quiet house. But, I couldn't feel my legs. And, I couldn't move.

And, he wasn't even done with me.

He pushed me off, my head landing towards the foot of the bed. He crawled on top of me. I didn't have to see his face to know how satisfied he was. Or, just how much he enjoyed himself.

Some moonlight seeping in through the blinds showed me. He wiped his shimmering mouth with the back of his arm.

"Bet that felt good." He taunted me, darkly. "But, you don't need me. Isn't that what you said?"

Apparently, he'd gotten out of his underwear before he got on top of me. Because, I felt him throbbing against me. He was hard, the weight of his bare cock heavy on my thigh.

He grabbed me by the bends of each knee, dragging me down closer until his pelvis was aligned with mine.

He made sure to look me in the face. His red eyes just seemed to glow maleficent in the dark. The very first time they loomed over me, I felt my innocence dissolve. He greedily drank it in.

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret." Brick bent my legs apart.

With one swift thrust, he was inside me.

"This is mine."

Thoroughly wet and lax, my body didn't put up any resistance. I couldn't have fought him off even if I wanted to.

He moved against me, hands planted on either side of my body. His thrusts were hard. The mattress moved with his momentum.

Flesh hitting flesh became unbearably loud in the dark. I cried out each time his hips hit me, clutching at him as he rocked me back and forth. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, muffling myself.

"You don't need this?" He growled under his breath. "You love it."

Brick took one hand, wrapping it around my neck just hard enough to force my head back down to the bed. He never hurt me. He couldn't. Not anymore.

We grew up, hit puberty, and his attention drastically changed. He changed. That boy became a man. When I became a woman, he was the first one to notice.

Overnight, he never laid a finger on me again. But, he could hardly keep those eyes to himself. They were boring in to me now. Brick leaned in, nose to nose with me.

"Just fucking kiss me." He said, breath against my lips.

I wouldn't open my mouth.

"Blossom." His voice took on that steel edge to it, like he was losing his patience.

Maybe, he was.

"I love you." The words touched my ears for the first time.

I played it like I could live without him. Like being here was all just a choice. But, there are reasons we make choices. Inevitably, they all have consequences.

Had he humored Princess, we wouldn't be here right now. It wouldn't have gone this far. But, Princess could never be me.

I was everything she wasn't. And, Brick made his choice a long time ago. Without regrets.

I couldn't really say I had any, myself. Even as I laid there subdued under him and powerless to his control over my body. It slipped in to surrender.

Brick bucked furiously against me, groaning low in his chest as my body quaked in warning. He nipped my blemished lip, forcing me to open my mouth. I gasped and his tongue plunged past my teeth

"Mmph-" My hands came up to push him away.

Brick pinned my wrists down, ravaging my mouth without apology. Or, restraint. Tongue against tongue, I could faintly taste myself on him. The sweet, coppery tang.

I hit the threshold with an Earth-shattering tremor, legs coming up to curl around his waist and pull him to me. Desperately holding on, and grasping for some foundation in this sinkhole, they locked around him.

Brick let my hands free. I tangled my fingers in his firey hair, clutching his face close.

xxxxxxx

Additional Author's Note:

I wanted to play around with the "opposites attract" trope. You know, that whole Good vs. Evil dynamic that Blossom and Brick have.

But, I also wanted to do something where the bad girl wants the bad boy- but, the bad boy doesn't want her back- with Princess and Brick.

In a way I've always secretly shipped Princess and Brick in that "This logically makes more sense" type of way. You know, evil with evil. But, she's a spoiled brat and Blossom is bae so...Lol! Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, guys! Thank you so much to the readers who left me feedback on the Archive of Our Own site, and the two on the fanfic (and adult fanfic) site so far, much appreciated!

It made my day to see comment alerts pop up in my email. Genuinely didn't expect to get so much positive feedback for this. Let alone so fast. It motivated me to finish the next chapter.

xxxxx

Thanks to my nap the prior night, I only slept for a few hours. The sun came up and I dressed for home. The early morning walk of shame goes rather quickly when you can fly.

My friend Robin did me the favor of taking my purse and jacket home for me the night before after I flew off in to combat with Princess. I found them hidden in the bushes a floor down below my bedroom window to keep my sisters from asking questions of where I could possibly be all night without them.

Sliding it open from outside, I snuck in and checked my phone. Just some texts from Bubbles and Buttercup the night before. Buttercup went out drinking with some people from her boxing class, and Bubbles went with her friends to the Farmer's Market and then to the movies. Everyone had a busy Friday night, per usual.

Everything was fine. But, I couldn't help but feel I was missing something. I put my phone back in my bag, freezing when I saw my birth control pack. The pill I was supposed to take last night was still in its slot.

Last night... Brick, he-

And, I hadn't taken my-

I slung my purse over my shoulder and bolted back out the window just as quickly as I'd arrived. I had the morning after pill for breakfast, washing it down with juice. Both of which I bought at the same pharmacy store around the corner.

I didn't care that I wasn't home, yet. I sat on top of the building out of sight and tore open the packaging, drinking it immediately. It wasn't like me to forget things like this.

It was only hours ago...thankfully, I caught it soon. Couldn't even fathom the aftermath if I hadn't. Since it was so early, everyone was still asleep when I hurried back home. Including Brick.

I had slipped out of his room earlier before he could even wake up and realize I was gone. My bed's pink sheets welcomed me in, still made from the prior morning. Professor giving us all our rooms was my saving grace. We all needed our own space.

Sharing a room as small kids was fine, but over the years we got along better when we weren't constantly together. We each had a way of living that clashed with one another. Buttercup's room was messier than I preferred, with exercise equipment and clothes everywhere. Bubble's girly stuffed animal collection and colorful anime posters didn't sit well with Buttercup. And, neither of them liked how meticulous I was with my room.

We'd always been different. It just became all the more apparent as we aged. There comes a point where you can't work around it anymore. You make adjustments and make it work.

If we hadn't, I wouldn't have gotten away with my double life for this long. At the end of the day, we were all grown anyways. It was time.

When Brick woke up and discovered me gone late that morning, he didn't like it. Sometime before eleven my phone screen lit up. I jumped a little when I heard it, like I'd been caught in the act sneaking away.

I ignored his text, going to take a bath. Professor got sick of us all fighting over the bathroom in middle school and had the house renovated with bathrooms in each of our bedrooms. Everything was a rose shade of pink in mine. I sunk in to the bubbles, comforted by the pastel tiles and porcelain.

I was in there just shy of an hour, cleaned off and soaking. I relaxed my head on the ledge of the tub and shut my eyes for a moment. I opened them when I thought I heard a sound.

Brick was leaning on the sink. He startled me and my arm slipped on the porcelain ledge, sending me falling in to the water.

"Morning, Babe." He deadpanned.

"Are you crazy?" I berated him, coughing up water. "Don't do that!"

My phone was on the bathroom sink. Brick was quick to notice.

"Oh, look at that. You have a text." He picked it up. "Interesting. It's from me."

"Do you want me to get caught?" I criticized. "Get out!"

"Had you answered this, I wouldn't be here. It's the least you could've done seeing as you were in such a dire rush to get home."

As bothered as he was, it wasn't his place to show up uninvited to my house. This was a boundary he wasn't supposed to cross. Ever.

"I was going to message you back." I glowered, pulling the curtain shut. "I was just at your house. Relax."

He'd already seen everything there was to see, but the gesture was meant more as a "fuck you". Not so much an attempt at modesty.

"I have a life that isn't you." I reminded him.

Brick ripped the curtain open.

"About that." He narrowed his eyes at me. "We need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about. We live different lives and it has to stay that way."

Brick didn't say anything for a moment; Just stared at me with that passive glare not lost to our childhood. I hadn't been on the receiving end of it in years. It made me flinch.

"You don't get to decide that." he stated, matter of fact.

"…excuse me?"

"Excuse yourself, you heard me."

The audacity struck me as especially brazen.

"You don't own me." I glowered.

"Pretty sure your pussy's mine. " Brick sharply retorted. "I've had it enough times."

I blanched at how loudly he said it, let alone the words themselves.

"Lower your voice." I hissed under my breath. "Have you lost your mind?"

I snatched the towel off the rack, standing up from the water. I wasn't my most menacing naked with suds stuck to me, but I countered Brick's cool stare with one of my own. I went about gathering clean fresh clothes, all too aware that Brick had no intention of leaving.

"If you're going to stay, keep your voice down." I flung my damp towel at him. "I mean it."

I pulled panties on, hooking my bra to place when he spotted something on my bedside table. The box from the pharmacy sat torn open, next to the half empty bottle of juice. Curious, Brick picked it up.

"...Wait, is this why you left so early?" he asked when he realized what it was.

"I didn't get to come home and take my pill last night."

I fixed the straps over my shoulders, giving him a pointed look.

"And, you didn't pull out. So."

"Last I recall, weren't your legs the ones locked around me?" He countered.

Fair point. But, not the point. Even so, he could have easily pried my legs off of him. But, he didn't. He chose not to.

"Doesn't mean I'm looking to get pregnant with your baby."

For some reason, that offended him.

"You make it sound like the end of the world."

"Right now, it would be."

Once upon a time, I believed he was incapable of having his feelings hurt. That illusion flickered, if only for a moment. Like some glitch in the system. It was there for a second, here and gone so quickly I questioned whether or not I really saw it.

"I'd take care of you both." Brick scowled.

"You won't need to. Ever." I gave him an annoyed look. "I take care of myself."

Not that this impromptu visit started off on a good note to begin with, but it was quickly going sour.

"Where do you get off acting like I'm supposed to be okay with being your second life?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I can't say I favor the thought of Mojo and Him being grandparents." I looked hard at him. "Or, in-laws."

Brick closed in before I could finish getting dressed. In a flash, he flew forward and cornered me. It happened so fast, I put my arms up defensively.

"As if I'd hurt you." He scoffed. "Especially in your fucking underwear."

"Maybe don't ambush me when you're mad?" I tried peeling myself away from the wall, but Brick wouldn't move. "You're stronger than I am. Don't act like you don't know that."

"Let's stay on topic."

"Which would be, what? You being an asshole?"

I really wasn't winning myself any points with Brick right now.

"You didn't think I was an asshole last night."

My eyes reflexively dipped to his mouth. I immediately looked away.

"Actually, yes I did." I corrected. "You're always an asshole."

Trying to move again, I was foiled. Brick, nonchalant as could be, used two fingers to press my sternum.

"Always, huh?" He pushed, making it clear I wasn't going anywhere right now.

"You were CREATED, and then RECREATED, to be an asshole. " I emphasized. "By assholes. Or, did you forget?"

"This isn't about my parents." He accused.

Whether he accepted it or not, much of this had to do with them. And, others. Some of who lived in the same house as me. My eyes darted to the bedroom door.

"I locked it when I got here." Brick leaned in close, again.

I looked him in the eye. He lingered there. You could cut the tension with a knife.

Brick kissed me. I'm sure it was to make sure it had actually happened, and he hadn't dreamed it. I let him touch his lips to mine. Didn't turn my face, didn't push him away.

Meekly, I kissed him back. Of everything we'd done, this felt the most reckless. I'm attracted to a villain. Worse, I'm attached to him.

"...Brick, this isn't about us." I whispered. "Things would be different if that were it. You know that."

His anger fizzled out to discontentment. But, Brick visibly eased. That stare softened, if only a little.

Down the hall, a bedroom door opened.

"Girls!" The professor called. "Everyone get ready. We're going out for Lunch."

Bubbles and Buttercup gave affirmative yells from their rooms. Two doors slammed signaling they'd zipped in to their bathrooms to get ready.

If we were going out to eat on a Weekend, it would be followed up with an outing, or some fun activity. It was something the professor liked to do with us at some point every month, or so. It gave us time to spend as a family. With us growing up and our lives drifting in different directions, we spent very little free time together.

"I have to get ready...you should go." I suggested, gently. "Maybe I'll see you later, tonight."

"No maybe."

xxxxxxx

Hiding from a fight wasn't my way of handling things, but I kept a low profile before dusk. I flew between buildings, closer to the ground, to avoid being spotted overhead in the sky. I just wanted to make it from one side of town, to the other, without any detours.

It was only a matter of time before Princess was geared up and ready to go, again. It was possible she was out looking for me now. Her Dad ordered those replacements like the morning paper. With relief, I made it to my destination undetected.

Brick was in his bedroom window, tapping a new pack of cigarettes in his palm. I flew up before he could get one out. It was such a nasty habit. I couldn't stand it.

"When are you going to quit those?"

"Kind of a big commitment." He retorted. "Thought we didn't do those."

"Don't start. It was an actual question."

Brick resorted to using his fingers to try and get one out.

"I'd quit for you." He assured me. "If you lived here."

I took the pack before he could get one out. Brick raised a brow.

"Unless you have a moving truck waiting outside, I suggest you give that back."

"No." I flew inside. "These are bad for you."

Brick shut the window with a playfully challenging air to him. I think. I mean, he didn't look mad. Miffed, at best.

"Are you looking for trouble?" He asked.

"I came here to see you. So apparently, yes."

He cracked half a grin at that.

"We talking your definition of trouble?" Brick checked. "Or, mine?"

"I'm not even sure at this point."

Losing interest in the box of cigarettes that I left on his dresser, Brick set his lighter down next to it. I took off my shoes, putting my jacket and purse aside.

"Mine's where you come over and take clothes off." He clarified. "Yours is just being here, period."

Butch and Boomer were out and up to their own Saturday night activities, leaving Brick and I with the house to ourselves. It was quiet. Not that I minded.

"It always amazes me how quiet it gets here when they're not downstairs." I commented, fixing my pony tail for a moment. "It's almost eerie."

"Doesn't have to stay quiet."

"It's not an issue. I don't mind."

I suddenly realized what he meant. One hand traveled up my skirt.

"I've been here five minutes."

"And, you'll be here a lot longer by the time I'm finished with you." Brick hooked the tip of his finger under my panty line, tracing the curve of fabric around one thigh. "You're mine for the rest of today. That's how this works."

"That's how this works, huh?"

"Exactly."

My phone started ringing before Brick could get any farther.

"...one sec." I apologized. "I should check that."

"Tch." He rolled his eyes but didn't complain.

Reaching over, I opened my bag. It was Robin. Which was unusual. She normally texted me.

"Hey, Girl." I answered, silently threatening to flick Brick in the nose if he didn't behave for a minute; He was looming close. "What's up?"

"Um...I sort of need your help. Right now."

Apparently, Robin took the wrong bus back from the mall. She was in this dingy end of town. Night would close in soon and she was scared out of her mind.

"There were these creepy g-guys on the bus and I think they're following m-me." She said in the receiver. "Could you hurry?"

"What street are you on? I'm on my way."

"D-Don't come alone. There are a lot of them."

Xxxxxx

Brick went with me to find Robin, given the nature of the threat. I could handle some creepy guys but he was over protective in that regard. Territorial was probably a better word, truthfully. But, either way, he couldn't stand the thought of me alone with other men.

If they weren't the professor, or his brothers, his mind went to the worst place. He didn't trust anyone else with me. It wasn't exactly healthy.

"I took on grown men as a kid." I berated him on the way. "I can handle myself."

"She said not to go alone." He excused. "I know this end of town better, anyways."

"Whatever. You're still ridiculous."

Scanning the streets below, I spotted Robin at the end of an alley.

"She's by herself, its fine. I'll get her."

I flew down and Robin ran towards me, full speed as fast as her legs would carry her.

"Go!" She looked panicked.

"What-"

Something dropped between us.

A metal canister hit the ground. There was a loud pop and the alley billowed with smoke. I snatched Robin and flew up out of the explosion's range.

"Did those men do this?" I surveyed the scene, looking for any sign of a suspect. "Where are they?"

"There aren't actually any-"

A second canister was tossed towards us, exploding. Brick dove in and kicked it back where it came from before it could go off. Another eruption of smoke filled the alley.

"The hell is going on?" He demanded. "Who was that?"

"I was walking home from work and some limo pulled up next to me-" Robin hastily explained before her eyes went wide. "Blossom, look out!"

I narrowly missed something sharp flying at me. It came from behind a dense cloud of smoke. Princess stepped out, donning a dart gun and a gas mask.

"i hate when I miss." She peeled it off her face and chucked it aside.

Princess had misaimed, sending the first flying past my shoulder. It almost hit Brick. She shot again, same thing. Never having been impressed with her to begin with, Brick made a bored sound of disapproval.

"Your aim sucks, Morbucks." He grunted, dodging the second stray dart. "Villain, my ass. You can't even hit a target right in front of you."

She fluttered her eyelashes tauntingly. Those hazel eyes gleamed.

"I'm not aiming for her."

Princess pointed the gun again. I put Robin down on the sidewalk, urging her to take cover in the subway.

"What is she shooting at Brick?" I asked.

"I don't know. She didn't tell me."

"Take the train out of here. Go straight home and don't talk to anybody."

Robin nodded and hurried down the subway steps, heeding my instructions.

"Should I call your sisters?" She called back wearily

"No!" It was my turn to panic. "We can handle this."

Whatever Princess was shooting at Brick, she was determined to hit him. It didn't make any sense. Yesterday, she's fighting me over him. Now, she's got a dart gun pointed at him and firing with a trigger-happy finger.

Assuming the worst, I didn't waste time. I dove in from Princess's right and sharply kicked the dart gun away from her. She scrambled for it and I knocked her knees out from underneath her. She hit the pavement. I pinned her.

"So, if you can't have him then no one can?" I accused, venomously.

Keeping his distance and weary of the apparent target on him, Brick didn't intervene. He didn't leave, either. He hovered, on edge.

"Brick, go!" I urged him.

"I'm not leaving you with her!" He snapped. "We don't know what's in that fucking thing."

"She isn't aiming for me! Just go!"

Brick wouldn't leave me, or turn his back on Princess. I had to do something. Princess used both her legs to kick me off.

"You think you know everything." She said.

Then something stuck me in the neck.

"That should take care of you."

My vision went blurry and suddenly my limbs got heavy. I started losing feeling in my body, collapsing on the pavement.

"Sweet dreams, Bitch." Princess left the dart in my neck.

It was a different color than the ones she had lined up for Brick. She had pulled it from her sleeve and jabbed me with it manually. Gun in hand once more, she had her finger on the trigger ready to shoot Brick when he tried coming to my aid.

"If she dies-" he seethed.

"She's just taking a snooze, big boy." Princess winked. "No one's going to die. Now, we can do this the easy way. Or, we can do it the hard way. You choose."

"Fucking bite me you dumb cunt."

She flew after Brick, presumably with a non-lethal substance. He didn't drop his guard any, regardless. Whatever Princess had in store for him. He was having none of it.

I tried forcing myself to move, yet to have lost consciousness. I could hear everything and still open my eyes. Forehead on the ground, I raised a lethargic limb and weakly yanked the dart from my neck before it could administer its entire contents. The glass shattered, spilling what remained along the asphalt.

Regardless, I'd gotten enough that I couldn't pick my body up. How was I going to get out of this one? To my horror, and green and blue streak dashed past me.

Fuck, Robin must've called my sisters. The blue streak looped back towards me, and the green one went after Princess and Brick.

"Blossom, you okay? Can you hear me?" It was Boomer.

For the first time in my life, I was relieved to hear Brick's brother in place of my sister.

"I...I can't move my...Princess, she-"

"Come on, let's get you out of here."

Boomer helped me up, bearing the weight of my useless limbs. I was dead weight.

Butch snuck up behind Princess, hitting her gun up as she pulled the trigger, sending the dart away. He then gave her a well-deserved right hook in the gut. Brick and his brothers weren't ones to bludgeon women. Butch hit just hard enough to get her to drop her weapon.

Brick lasered it mid-air before it could hit the ground. The gun exploded, pieces scattering in a burst of debris and rubble. Princess's deflected dart came back down. Brick dove down after it, safely catching it by the shaft.

"What the hell are you doing keeping that?" Boomer flew my limp body over.

"I don't know what it is." Brick grunted. "I'd like to find out."

Seeing me immobilized and drowsy, Butch looked at the dart.

"...isn't that whatever's got her fucked up?" He scrutinized.

"Nope. The dumb cunt specifically lured me here for whatever this is. Blossom just got a sedative, or something. It was supposed to put her to sleep."

He rightfully assumed the smoke bombs were her first plan. The dart was her backup. Seeing as she failed to land the hit on Brick, Princess escaped and left the boys to deal with the aftermath of my debilitated state. Butch offered to go after her, and Brick shook his head.

"Let her go, she's not worth it. I need to get Blossom out of here."

Brick handed off the dart to Butch so he'd have open arms for me. The sun set and the street lamps came on. The city passing us by in flight looked blurry.

Spots of light flickered against the dark moving canvas, making me sick. I shut my eyes to stop it. My head lolled towards Brick's chest and he supported the weight of my skull with his hand, keeping it close.

Xxxxxx

To keep her from calling my sister's, Brick messaged Robin to let her know I was fine. If you could really call it that. The tranquilizer I was hit with hadn't worn off. Brick laid me in his bed just after sunset.

"How are you feeling?"

"It's hard to move." I fought my heavy eyelids, determined to stay conscious. "Where did you put the dart?"

The dart he salvaged was carefully stored away for safe keeping. I struggled to turn over on to my side. It would take a bit to get my mobility back, but I fought tooth and nail.

"We need to have the contents analyzed." I insisted. "I can take it to the lab-"

I managed to put some weight on my elbow, only for it to collapse from under me.

"Damn it." I winced "W-We don't know what she was trying to do."

"Another day." Brick manually positioned me back to alleviate my discomfort. "Take it easy, for now. You're not going anywhere, end of story."

There wasn't a choice in the matter. If I couldn't really move, I wasn't going anywhere whether I liked it, or not. He rolled me over so my head was on his chest and we could both watch T.V seeing as there was little to be done as we waited this out.

"I'm surprised you're still conscious." Brick peered down at me, seeing my pink eyes open.

"I ripped the dart out... I didn't get it all." I slid my eyes away from the screen to Brick's face. "I'm fighting to stay awake."

"You're safe here. You can go to sleep."

"..."

He hadn't given me a reason to believe otherwise. But, I hesitated.

"Blossom." Brick said it more sternly. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"She could come back with more-"

"If she's stupid enough to come back tonight, she'd dead."

Butch and Boomer were home, stacking the odds against Princess with three men against one woman. It was unlikely she had any intention to come back and finish what she started tonight.

I shut my eyes and gave in to the drowsy feeling, lulled by the warmth of Brick's body. He heard my breezing slow, peering down to find me sleeping. He brushed hair away from my face, warm even breaths hitting him between the pectorals.

Holding me, Brick dozed off far less peacefully than I had. The only reason he could at all was knowing we weren't alone. He must've been wound up from earlier because he instantly stirred awake when he felt me try to move later.

I could now, albeit shakily, use my arms to push myself up. It was still pathetic to watch and getting me nowhere any time fast.

"What are you doing?" Brick watched me struggle. "You're not trying to go home like that, are you?"

"No. I'm just seeing how much of this is still in my system...It's beginning to wear off. A little."

I felt tired and weighed down, but I could kind of force myself to move if I tried really hard. Not that Brick felt I should. It was far too much effort for very little results.

"Lie back down." He entirely disapproved. "That shit still has you fucked up. Why are you even-"

"I feel stiff, I need to stretch."

"Here. I'll do it. Stop moving."

Brick laid me back down, taking my arms one by one and carefully pulling to loosen the joints up. He then grasped a calf and gently lengthened my leg, giving the other the same treatment.

He ran his hands up the length of my legs from ankle to knee, massaging them with a firm touch. It felt nice. I relaxed, relieved that everything seemed to be fine. I hadn't lost any sensation.

I'd be fine as soon as this stuff totally worked its way out of my system. However long that took. For now, I didn't mind lying there.

"Babe?" Not sure whether to take my silence as good or not, Brick made sure I hadn't dozed off again.

"Hm?"

I was awake.

"Nothing's numb, right?" Brick checked, rubbing me as if he were trying to get my circulation going. "Can you feel that?"

"Yeah, I can feel everything."

And it was lovely.

"...everything?"

Brick's hand trailed up. He moved past my knees, massaging my thighs now-making it dangerously close to the front of my panties.

"Yes, everything." I yanked my leg away the best I could manage.

It wasn't very strong in the least. He still had a grip on me.

"You sure?" Brick's hand resumed its path, far more slowly this time. "You didn't let me check."

He saw an opportunity, and he took it. My body lying there no longer came across worrisome. I was relaxed, safely laid out in the middle of his bed, awash in a lingering fog. He saw submission. And, vulnerability.

The phone call that led to this to this situation in the first place is what interrupted us earlier. As far as Brick was concerned, we had unfinished business he didn't mind getting back to. Now that he knew I was going to be okay, that is.

"Usually you have trouble moving after I'm done with you." He pushed the hem of my shirt up without permission, skimming his fingers over my exposed stomach. "Not before."

The irony of the situation struck him as only so funny with the unfortunate circumstance of how I got here.

"Did Princess take the fun out of it, for you?" I retorted dryly.

"Never."

He worked my shirt off my body, raising my arms to get it off. Sliding my skirt down my hips was easier. There wasn't I could do except maybe say no.

But, I didn't.

"Preying on drugged women?" I lightly shamed him. "Feel like a big man when I can't fight back?"

"Don't blame the drugs." Brick ran a curled knuckle between my confined breasts. "You want it."

He softly groped me. His large hand swallowed one breast, squeezing through the material of my bra.

"Always pink..." He trailed off. "I can't help but wonder what a red little number would look like."

Reaching underneath me, Brick unhooked my bra. He briefly inspected the cotton garment with white piping before tossing it aside.

"Maybe something with black lace." He mused aloud.

"Like you need another stroke to your ego."

"It's just a thought. I like the pink."

Parting my legs, Brick laid his hips between them.

"It's you." He kissed between my breasts.

Fully clothed, Brick spent special attention to my chest. It was unrushed and he took his time enjoying every bit of skin he explored.

He teased with a feathery touch. Tracing the swell of one with his fingers, Brick's mouth veered right. He strayed close to my nipple, a hint of warmth wafting it before stopping short. His mouth never touched it. He retreated only to give my other breast the same treatment.

I got a chill through my body and both my nipples stiffened. They stood pert and ignored. Instead, Brick suckled a patch of skin below my ear. Pressing in to me, the front of his pants were strained with his cock.

Receptive to his body, I felt myself getting wet in response. My leg instinctively went to curl around his waist, to create an anchor for me to move my hips against him. But, I couldn't hold it there long enough or get a good grip the way I needed.

"Something you want?" Brick's voice dropped outside my ear.

It wasn't like he'd never taken his time on me before. The only thing this man liked better than fucking me, was making me want it. This had an especially sensual heat behind it, however.

I tried wrapping my leg around him, again. No success. Not sure why I even tried-wasn't like I could move against him even if I did it.

"M-Move...or something." I pleaded, hips feebly trying to create friction but getting nowhere. "I can't."

His fingers crawled down. Lower, lower, lower...until he reached my panty line. He didn't do anything. Just skimmed the smooth skin right under the elastic.

"What was that?" Brick pried.

"I need you to-"

"Need?" He repeated. "Now, there's a strong word."

His fingers disappeared in to my panties.

"I like the sound of it." He approved.

Hand in my underwear, he idly caressed the bare skin he found, almost mindlessly. He was right there. But, he wasn't doing anything! It drove me crazy.

"What was it you need me to do?"

"Brick…" I complained. "Don't play stupid."

"Who's playing stupid?" He challenged. "I'm asking you a legitimate question...maybe if you answer me, I could help a little quicker."

I wasn't one to voice these types of things. While some would consider it prudish, Brick knew that wasn't it. Not anymore.

I was anything but prudish once he'd finally sucked me in to his debauchery; sinking his teeth and claws so deep that I didn't even miss my innocence. I relinquished it. But, I was still me.

Some crucial things hadn't changed.

"You're awfully shy for someone so confident." He dipped lower, but still not where I needed him. "Very misleading."

"I'm not saying it."

His fingertip touched my pubic mound, exploring the smooth flesh without venturing in.

"Guess we'll be here a while." Brick faked indifference when really, he already knew exactly how he wanted this to play out. "Not like you're going anywhere."

This was the absolute worst time to find myself in this position. I could barely lift my arm when I reached for the front of his shirt. It trembled. My fingers weakly clenched the fabric.

"This is cruel, even for you." I scolded.

"I'm cruel? Whatever gave you that impression?"

Wetness seeped from me. Brick played with it, glossing between my intimate lips. I took a sharp inhale when he nudged in the slightest bit. He faked me out.

His crimson eyes shone mischievously, absorbed in my frustrated stare. Pink irises looked back at him, glassy from whatever drug lingered in my system.

"When this stuff wears off, I'm going home." My voice was less than forgiving. "Don't expect me back this week."

Brick didn't so much as bat an eye at the threat.

"You always come back." His words dripped hubris. "I never have to wait very long."

"Get ready for that to change."

Two fingers slipped inside me, sinking in with deliberate delay making sure I felt every bit of it. My mouth felt open when Brick sharply curled them within my slick inner walls.

"No." He patronized. "Don't think I will."

Those long fingers killed my attitude on the spot. Palm up between my legs, and buried to his knuckles, he rubbed the tender tissue inside me. Brick knew my body well.

"If you don't come back...I'll find you." He worked me like putty in the palm of his hand. "I know where you live, Beautiful."

He used his free hand to work my panties down my limp legs.

"Can't hide from me."

xxxxxx

Pinned to the headboard, I weakly held on to Brick. With a thigh in each hand, he supported my weight, thrusting up in to me.

I moaned softly, accepting the helpless position. The light from the television flickered in the dark, casting our shadows along the wall. Chin rested on his shoulder, I watched them move with half-lidded eyes.

Brick buried his nose in my hair, taking in hints of cherry blossoms. It intoxicated him. The smell of me, the sound of me, the feeling...

He tilted his hips at me just right, feeding off the pleasured sounds I gave with his thrusts. My diaphragm shuddered with shallow breaths, pressing my breasts to his muscular chest.

The headboard's smooth, polished wood was comfortably cool to the touch along my back. But, I couldn't feel it. My body was lit aflame, hot all over.

I was melting from the inside out, it felt like. Heat slowly seeping from my core... turning me to hot gelatinous pulp. Leaving me useless and cloaked in its warm aura.

That, or I was hopelessly gone to this man's embrace. He was draining me, and I basked in it. Scorched, I burned away and it was bliss.

On Brick's right arm, there was a skull tattooed. Thorned rose vines with buds sprouted up from the soil curling around It and through its deep eye sockets and mouth, encasing the bone in live foliage.

The vines curled to make a cursive "B" in in the center of the skull's forehead. In its maleficent grin, a pink rose in full bloom.

My nails gently dug in to his biceps, leaving not a scratch on him. Or the art etched along his skin. Outside police sirens sounded, rushing down the street. On the television's screen, breaking news scrolled across the bottom.

There was a shooting at a local store this end of town. My phone never rang for the crimes here. And, here I was. Mingling with the very kind even our justice system didn't feel were worth my time. The devil's son himself.

"B-Brick..." I broke off in to a clipped cry. "O-Oh..."

"You make me so powerful..." Brick lowly groaned in to my hair. "Cum for me, Baby. Just like that."

I was perilously close, on the edge and at his mercy. He wanted me to fall apart on him. Pelvic bone pressed to mine, he gave short precise thrusts where I was most sensitive. His pace and rhythm were perfect.

With no use of my legs, sensation pooled and concentrated. It intensified, getting sharper and sharper until I peaked effortlessly. Once I tipped the edge, it was a swift euphoric plunge.

"Keep cumming." It wasn't a request. "I know you can."

Brick never stopped moving. His cock moved in and out, stretching me and pushing my climax to its limit. I physically didn't have the capacity to scream. All I could produce was a keening mewl under the relentless jut of his hips.

That night, Brick slept with me secured in his arms. Like someone would come and snatch me away in the middle of the night if he didn't hold on tight enough. I couldn't help but wonder if it was even possible at this point. But, I was where I wanted to be.

xxxxxxx

He is a villain by the devil's law.

He is a killer just for fun, fun, fun, fun.

The man's a snitch and unpredictable.

He's got no conscious, he got none, none, none, none.

The Coffee Shop window that Princess destroyed was replaced when I went in Sunday afternoon. The speakers overhead played, filling the quaint space with music. I looked down in to my drink, blowing steam away. Today was crawling by slowly.

"Blossom?" Robin asked.

"Hm?" I looked up.

Her blue eyes blinked twice.

"...you okay?"

"Me? Yeah." I lied through my teeth. "Why?"

Oh, I know I should let go.

But, no.

'Cause he's a bad boy with a tainted heart.

And, even I know this ain't smart.

Robin fiddled with the straw to her boba tea, twisting it around lightly.

"You seem kind of off, today." She said. "Was the fight rough, yesterday? Your, uh, boyfriend said everything was fine."

"I am fine. It was nothing I couldn't handle."

"...She ambushed you two days in a row. Seems like a lot of hassle over a guy, lately."

Robin wasn't giving me grief. She never did. The whole ordeal looked exhausting, was all.

"I worry about you...you know, in the long run." She added. "I don't know how you deal that."

Mama I'm in love with a criminal.

And, this type of love isn't rational. It's physical.

Mama, please don't cry I will be alright.

All reasons aside, I just can't deny I love the guy.

"I'm sorry Princess dragged you in to this." I told her. "Don't worry about me, though. Everything's under control."

"You're the smartest person I know, I want to believe you..." Robin's comforting smiling didn't quite reach her eyes. "But, you look so exhausted."

"Maybe yesterday was a little rough."

She look worried; Conflicted, almost. She hemmed and hawed for a moment, struggling with whether to say something.

"What?" I asked.

"Princess could really hurt you one of these days."

The bit of information wasn't news to me.

"I'm starting to see that. I used to think she was so harmless...I mean, she was harmless at first."

Princess's petty games and tantrums were becoming increasingly volatile and escalating. Something happened. The wrong nerve was pushed, maybe.

Or, the spoiled brat was beginning to snap with the realization that she didn't actually have the entire world wrapped around her little finger. Just the parts of it that money could control. Whatever it could buy her.

Unfortunately, not everything has a price tag. At least, not monetarily. Everything does, however, come at a cost.

Our two-seated table in the corner of the shop oversaw the entire floor. A couple across the way occupied a love seat, casually cozied up close with warm mugs and a box of cookies to share. I didn't realize I was staring until Robin gently tapped my foot under the table with hers.

"It might be time to tell your sisters what's going on...you can't hide him forever." Robin tucked a piece of her long brown hair back. "And, I don't think he's worth putting yourself in danger over."

"The world will always be dangerous for me." I genuinely meant it. "So long as evil exists. And, it always will."

"If we're being honest, don't understand what you see in him...is there actually anything good there?"

He's got my name tattooed on his arm

Its his lucky charm.

So, I guess it's okay.

He's with me.

There wasn't anything I could say to make sense of this to anyone. I still hadn't found the words, or the excuse. At least, not one that justified my poor choices.

Robin trusted my judgement, and privacy, enough not to confide in anyone what I trusted her with-No matter how badly she wanted better for me.

The biggest shame was, I didn't want better for myself. I had what I wanted. What to do with it was the dilemma.

xxxxxx

Additional Author's Note:

When the Rowdyruff Boys were originally revived in the show by Him, kisses made them bigger and tougher. And, emasculating them made them weak and shrink. In this fic, I'm keeping some of that dynamic.

Here Brick is a pretty powerful being for two reasons: One being that he's past puberty and naturally has a physical advantage over a (super) woman now that's he a (super) grown man. And two, since Blossom is constantly around, and so receptive to him sexually, she's essentially feeding his adult ego and buffing him up power-wise.

This man's dangerous. Perhaps not an imminent threat to her, given the circumstance. But, dangerous none the less. And, she KNOWS it. I felt it was worth mentioning here. (Didn't want to drop too much on y'all that last chapter and spoil stuff before I could get to it).

Thanks again, for reading! Hope to hear from you :)

***Also, the song referenced in this chapter was "Criminal" by Brittney Spears.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, guys! I had a reader on the Fanfic site who was concerned with the last chapter. It was in regards to Blossom being drugged, and Brick having sex with her.

I'd like to point out that this was a consensual scene. Brick didn't rape her. However, it was meant to make people a little uncomfortable. Keep in mind that while reading this fic that there ARE toxic themes here.

There are going to be scenes with Brick that show that. This isn't a lighthearted couple dynamic, guys.

Xxxxx

I had options for analyzing the contents of Princess's dart. I could give it to the Professor at home, or bring it to my Chemistry professor at the local College. I chose the latter. Less questions that way.

"Professor Nguyen..." I knocked on her office door. "May I come in?"

"Miss Utonium, of course."

I quietly shut the door behind myself, approaching the middle-aged woman sitting behind her desk. A hot cup of tea held in her hands, she looked past her large glasses at me with fondness.

"It's wonderful to see you." Her eyes crinkled with her smile. "What can I do for you, today?"

"I confiscated this from a villain." I carefully set the dart down in front of her, mindful of the papers laid out along her desk. "I don't know what's in it...if it isn't too much trouble-"

"Never any trouble, at all."

She took a sample and capped it in a vial, promising to run it tonight get back to me tomorrow.

"Now...since you're here, I couldn't help but notice you're only taking one online course this semester."

"I know...there's a lot going in my life right now."

With sympathy, she nodded in understanding.

"It can't be easy being a hero." She consoled me. "You have my utmost respect."

I didn't feel like I deserved it, these days. But, I thanked her for the sentiment.

"Blossom..." She stopped me before I could leave. "You're a bright woman. I hope to see you in class again, soon."

I wanted to finish my degree. And, be active in a classroom amongst my peers. But, there just wasn't the time right now. I couldn't protect Townsville under normal capacity, let alone with Princess making it harder, on top of keeping a job and full-time courses. Let alone a personal life.

"I hope so too, Professor Nguyen."

xxxxxx

"I thought you were going to be late." Robin sat behind the counter at the bookstore. "You cut it super close."

"I had something important that needed taking care of." I apologized. "Made a stop at the college."

"Oh, are you taking classes on campus again?" She asked hopefully. "For next semester?"

She could tell by the unenthused look on my face that it was a 'no' as of right now.

"Stupid Princess." She sighed to herself, getting back to a book she'd been reading. "She's interrupting your life."

"It is what it is, for now."

"You shouldn't sacrifice your goals because of some spoiled brat."

"They're just on the back burner."

The shop wasn't very busy this time of day. I got to work cleaning now so I wouldn't have to do it at closing.

"...doesn't the city pay you for crime fighting? Couldn't you go back to school full-time if you quit this job? It would free up a few days."

"Working here isn't about the money, it makes me feel normal." I wiped dust off the ceiling fan. "I don't want to quit."

"...just makes me sad. You loved being in class."

I let myself operate on auto pilot the rest of my shift. Robin stocked shelves, I cleaned. We had a few customers, some browsers. Before we knew it, we were closing up shop with some of the other part timers.

When I got home, there was more cleaning to do. I did my laundry, helped my sisters with the house chores. It wasn't strenuous, but I was mentally done with today.

Finally settling in for bed, I couldn't even sleep. I laid there for hours trying. I clapped my hands over my face in frustration before putting on a hooded sweatshirt. Sitting up on the roof, I looked up at the night sky.

One by one, all the house lights in the neighborhood eventually went out. The wind tousled my bangs and I pulled my knees up to my chest, resting my chin down on them.

It was peaceful here in this end of Townsville. But, my head buzzed. There weren't any specific thoughts haunting me, just felt like I had this pesky static scratching at my skull; Which was the most aggravating part of it all.

I couldn't sit still very long and I took off in to the night. I had no particular destination in mind, looking to occupy my mind with something. I flew as if I were patrolling the city, looking down at streets and buildings. All was fine, tonight. Nothing amiss here.

The only thing that stood out to me was a bonfire down in the deep woods. I figured it was Fuzzy and his nephews or something. They typically didn't get into much trouble.

So long as you left them alone, they weren't a threat. I didn't bother going down to check on them. Showing up uninvited to their property would set them off so I just kept flying.

And, I nearly screamed when something grabbed me. Or, someone.

"Hey." Brick kissed the side of my face in flight. "You're out late."

"We're in public, let go of me."

I darted out of his hold, flying ahead a few yards. Brick followed along behind me.

"What are you even doing out this late?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I countered, evenly. "I better not have to clean up a mess tomorrow."

"That little faith in me, huh?"

I peered over my shoulder, said nothing. Then looked straight ahead.

"Came out for a beer." Brick sighed at my cold shoulder. "When's the last time you even had to clean up one of my messes?"

"Not the point."

"It's been years, and you know it."

Brick hadn't terrorized the town, that was true. On some level, I think I was just bitter he terrorized my peace of my mind at times. I fought with myself. Constantly.

"Go get your beer." I dismissed him. "I'm just heading home."

"From...?" He pressed.

"Since when do I have to explain myself to you?"

It came out a tad blunter than I intended it to. Brick swooped in to grab me, again. He snatched me up in his arms, and it suddenly wasn't playful.

It was quick, and hard. Like a bear trap. This time, he didn't let me get away.

"Something to hide?" Brick accused; I tried prying myself away with no use. "Anyone I should know about?"

"Brick, what the hell?" I snapped. "No!"

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look him in the face. Red eyes bore holes in to me.

"Then where were you?" He simmered.

"Nowhere." I pushed at his arm. "Damn it, I just can't sleep. Okay?"

Brick gave me a hard-long look deciding whether to believe me, or not. He took in my pajamas and my long hair tied up in a loose bun. My plain pink hoodie. I had slippers on my feet. Didn't even have my purse with me.

I was dressed for bed. Not a date. With no apology, Brick let go of my face. But, he didn't let go of me.

Holding me close, he flew in silence for a bit. When he finally said something, a sharp chill went down my spine.

"If there's ever anyone else, I'll make you regret it." It was an entirely promise, not a threat. "I won't hesitate teaching them to keep their hands off what's mine. Remember that."

Brick getting his hands on a normal person would end horribly. He could easily kill them. With, or without, meaning to. Because while he couldn't bring himself to hurt me, that anger would still have to vent somewhere.

I'd never forgive myself for letting someone innocent fall victim to Brick's possessive jealousy. His rage.

If put in such a situation where anything led my attention astray, Brick would do what he was originally created to do: Destroy what's in his path.

It'd been me from Day One. I was always his target. His life's purpose.

First it was to destroy me; Now to have me all to himself.

Funny how Mojo hadn't even considered girls to be a weakness when creating Brick as a child. Even funnier how Him didn't take in to consideration that boys don't stay boys forever when "fixing" him.

Boys and men...their interests differ dramatically.

It effectively threw a wrench in arguably the greatest ploy any Villain of Townsville ever had. They almost got us. Too bad for them, nature always takes its course.

"I've never given you a reason not to trust me." I told Brick. "Ever."

"Keep it that way." Was all he had to say about it.

Brick landed in front of a convenience store. I waited outside. When he came back out, he had a brown paper bag.

We went to a quiet, empty beach and sat along the shore. People didn't come out here this time of night.

"That's for you." Brick handed me a cup of strawberry ice cream and a plastic spoon.

Using his teeth, he popped the cap off his beer without so much as wincing. Taking a swig, he wasn't impressed. The store's beer case must've been on the fritz because his drink wasn't very cold.

"Ugh. Warm beer." He grumbled. "Knew I should have gone to the other place."

I took his drink, lightly blowing in to the neck of the glass bottle until it frosted over.

"Here." I handed it back.

"Appreciate it." Brick actually enjoyed his second swig.

"Mhm." I made a sound of acknowledgement.

Peeling back the paper lid to my cup, I rested my head on his shoulder taking a spoonful of pink ice cream. He wasn't a compassionate sort, or someone to go to with your feelings. But, Brick asked if I was okay.

"Always." I told him.

He scoffed, not convinced.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The tide washed in, lapping at the sand a few feet away. I watched it pull back, and wash back in. There was a seashell in the sand, just out of reach. All it would take was another inch creeping in and it'd be swept away.

"Hero status is overrated." Brick criticized in his blunt, cynical way. "You're a prisoner to the public."

"Maybe." I agreed. "But, it's what I was created for."

"Who gives a shit what you're created for? I was created to destroy you. I told my parents where to shove it."

Once Brick decided I was no longer his enemy, in his adolescent hubris he disowned his parents. He did so before he could give them the chance to consider doing it themselves.

Butch and Boomer followed his lead, reclaiming their lives and relinquishing the pursuit of my sisters' demise. Though, Buttercup and Bubbles never knew why the Rowdyruff boys seemingly lost interest in trying to take us down with all of Townsville. They just considered themselves grateful for one less set of villains to deal with.

The boys had been a handful and a headache in their day…

"Live the way you want to." Brick scolded as if it were so simple. "Your life should be about you."

Me? Live life for myself? Ha.

"I'm in the public eye, Brick. I can't just do whatever I want. People are watching me, I'm supposed to be perfect."

Brick put his arm around me, bringing in closer by the curve of my waist.

"You are perfect." He meant it.

"No." It hurt to say it. "But, I was."

The moment I humored this man's advances, I'd lost all credibility in myself. He lured me in. And, though I resisted for years... Like any skilled villain, he wore me down.

The sexual tension snapped. Much like my sanity it felt like, some days.

"I'll never understand why you're so hard on yourself." Brick insisted. "This isn't a crime, I would know."

While Brick and his brothers weren't maleficent, chaotic, active forces of destruction in their adult years how they'd been as children, they were still nothing less in the public eye. Their reputation was etched in stone.

At their cores, they hadn't changed. They were still the mischievous, troublesome entities they'd always been. They didn't take shit from anyone or anything. And, they sure as hell didn't care about the greater good of the city.

They were to be feared and avoided by those who knew who they were. And, their parents were very much still terrorizing Townsville as the days went on.

Yet, Brick could see a future in that mess.

"Villainous Affairs: Heroic Hypocrisy." I quoted a hypothetical newspaper that would surely hit the press. "How does that sound?"

"Perfect."

I rolled my eyes in frustration. He didn't get it. He couldn't. Brick would never see the world through the eyes of a hero. It wasn't in him.

"You would think so." I sighed. "I don't want to be a tabloid cover."

"Sometimes I think you just don't want to be mine."

"Never said that."

"Better that way. You're mine whether you like it, or not."

The moon hanging in the sky reflected off the ocean's dark, glistening waters. The waxing crescent shone with something promising. Its light put me at ease, if only for a moment.

"We could leave." Brick looked up at it. "Start somewhere new."

"I can't leave Townsville. It needs me."

"I hate this fucking place."

xxxxx

"No kiss goodbye?"

Brick lingered at the window, having just flown me back to my room. He waited, already having decided he wasn't leaving without getting what he wanted. Typical.

"You're asking a lot." I gave him a hard time, regardless.

"Am I?" He countered. "Because, most couples kiss each other goodnight."

I crossed my arms.

"We aren't a regular couple."

Quick to the draw, Brick countered.

"We're better." he curled his knuckle under my chin to bring my face closer. "C'mon, Babe. Please?"

"...only because you said please."

I couldn't believe that it was in his vocabulary. He was full of surprises. This red wild card kept me on my toes.

"Little miss manners and justice." He rolled his eyes, but with a taunting type of fondness. "That's why you're so cute."

I blushed, embarrassed he managed to get a reaction out of me.

"Ha." He taunted. "Pink really is your color."

Before Brick could let that smug grin get any bigger, I leaned in the rest of the way to kiss him goodbye and get him away from my house.

"Just shut up and go home."

I gave him just a peck on the lips, ready to pull away. Brick held me in close by the chin.

"A real kiss."

He parted his mouth along mine. My skin prickled pleasurably at the sensation of his tongue probing the seam of my lips for entrance. I opened my mouth slightly, getting his tongue in a sensual kiss.

I was supposed to part ways with him when he flew me home. But, I wound up letting him inside. I swiftly shut the curtains.

"Thought I was leaving. What happened?"

I put a finger to his lips in warning.

"I can still send you home."

Brick caught my wrist. His mouth came crashing down on mine.

"Send me home and I'm taking you with me. I thought about you all day."

I could vividly imagine the thoughts running through his mind: Everything he'd ever done to me and everything he wanted to. He was always plotting.

"All day?" I faked disinterest. "Didn't have anything better to do?"

"You're the best there is." He groped me over my clothes, following the curve of my body. "Doesn't get any better than you."

Shameless flattery, and undefeated confidence. Brick was such a calculated flirt.

He worked my sweatshirt off my body, tossing it aside. With one finger, Brick untied the string to my pajama bottoms, sending them down my legs in a heap at my feet.

I stood there in just panties, eye level with his chin. I remember being the same size as him once upon time. We'd been evenly matched for years. It felt so impossibly long ago.

As he let my panties hit the floor, the years briefly flashed through my eyes. I remembered him painfully swinging me by my hair as kids, sending me crashing through a nearby building.

I felt Brick's hand in my hair and visibly flinched. He gently pulled my hair free of its bun, sending the coppery auburn locks tumbling down to my waist.

"It looks sexy loose." He softly raked through them with his fingers. "Your scalp still hurt from that bitch yanking it?"

"A little yeah..." I cleared my throat, toying with a long piece draped past my sternum. "It's fine."

"Brat's lucky she's a girl. I'd snap her fucking neck, otherwise."

Brick laid his lips on mine. I shut my eyes and he brushed the piece I toyed with behind my ear. I involuntarily flinched a second time. Harder. He barely touched me.

Damn it, why am I doing that?

I gave an inner wince, bracing for Brick to get mad. He couldn't stand my guard being up with him. The man made it clear he'd never hurt me.

"I don't pull hair anymore." Brick brought his lips just outside my ear.

He made a third attempt to touch my hair. Brick brought one hand up the nape of my neck and carefully closed his fingers, softly grabbing a handful at the base of my skull. I held my breath a moment. Brick brought my face closer.

My heart felt like it was hammering out of my chest. Could he hear it?

"Breathe." He instructed.

I let the breath go with an even exhale. Brick ran his fingers down the length of my hair, roots to ends.

"Now be a good girl, and go lie down."

Taking orders wasn't my thing. I was a leader, not a follower. But, I wordlessly complied.

Sitting at the edge of the bed, I laid myself down acutely aware of how dangerous it was to invite him in here. Brick stripped off his shirt in one smooth tug, pulling it overhead and discarding it wherever it lay. He rolled his shoulders to loosen them up, and approached with confidence I'd foolishly fed him.

He told me to lie down and I just obediently did it.

"Can't sleep, isn't that you said?" Brick parted my legs, holding them apart with a hand at each inner thigh. "It's because you're tense."

He kissed one, getting a taste of skin.

"I can take care of that."

As his mouth crept up, I listened for any sign that someone was awake. Right before he could reach me, I stopped him.

"A-Actually, maybe not that tonight."

Red eyes looked up at me from down between my legs. There was a flash of annoyance.

"You don't want it?"

I didn't say anything. I didn't push him away. My silence spoke volumes.

Then there was that low chuckle of his.

"Scared you'll cry, again?" His red eyes narrowed with that dark laugh. "Just relax."

Brick knew exactly who the hell he was, and I had him in my bed. With Bubbles and Buttercup's rooms on either side of mine. How was I supposed to relax?

"You realize where we are, right?"

"Don't think so much." He dismissed. "I hate it when you're tense."

Brick got closer and closer until warm breath grazed me. I wiggled in his hold, hoping he'd change his mind about what he was about to do.

"Brick, please." I gave a last resort weak plea. "Don't get crazy."

"Just focus on me, Babe."

The velvety warm glide of his tongue over my intimate flesh wasn't as unwelcome as I'd let on. But, I struggled to let my guard down. My legs laid stiff and slightly bent on either side of him.

He licked at me in a slow steady rhythm, laying his palm over one hip signaling for me to unclench. I reluctantly let the tension go, easing in to the mattress with time.

Feeling me slowly melt under him, Brick kept his pace surprisingly soft and unhurried. He rolled his tongue around in heavy, fluttering motions. I stared up at the ceiling, grabbed at the pillow under my head. I fiddled with the case between my fingers, praying Brick behaved himself.

He was playing nice now, but that could easily change. Keeping that pace, Brick pleasured me in the silence of the night, listening to me quietly succumb to his oral attention. My legs trembled on either side of him, coming up in sharp arcs with feet in the air as I threw my head back, mouth falling open in a silent cry.

He led me to climax, easing off for a moment. Only a moment. With each release, he kept going until I pressed a hand to his head panting for a break. To my relief, he gave it to me.

Brick eased back to inspect his work. He reared up on his knees and undid his belt, sliding the leather free in one leisurely pull. The buckle hit the floor with a clank.

We had to be extra careful not to make noise here, and Brick never let that slip his mind.

The headboard didn't clatter. With my legs propped up on his shoulders, Brick thrusted with a hand over my mouth. He made slow, long strokes.

I didn't break eye contact with him. It was almost too intimate. I got lost in that stare.

Muffled whimpers slipped past his fingers. Brick savored the sight of me sprawled out before him, joined at the pelvis.

"Shh..." He looked where our bodies met, watching his length disappear inside me shiny and wet.

I gripped his arm, leaving white fingerprints along his skin. My sisters slept soundly, without a clue as to who was just on the other side of their wall.

Xxxxxx

"...it's what?"

"An aphrodisiac." Professor Nyguen repeated. "An unusually potent one, I might add."

I held my phone to my ear in silence for a moment. Not so much shocked as I was caught off guard.

"That's all?"

"While it isn't lethal, I wouldn't sneeze at this. Taking a dose that large could render a person completely… incapacitated…to their biological urges."

And Princess was going to shoot Brick with it? Pathetic. All the brat knew how to do was cheat and play dirty.

"For how long?"

"I'd say hours." Professor Nyguen chuckled dryly at the absurdity of such a weapon. "Hours upon hours."

I thanked my professor for her time and service. Wasn't sure if Brick would find humor in this, or not. I couldn't decide if there was any, at all. But, he'd always had a darker sense of humor than I.

Since my sisters didn't barge in to my room without warning, and the door was locked, I didn't force Brick to leave the night prior. Forcing him out in broad daylight with everyone home was honestly riskier than just hiding him until dark.

"...it's what?" He deadpanned. "She was basically going to pump me full of Viagra?"

"Not exactly...an aphrodisiac is a little different than erectile dysfunction medication."

"How?"

Interested in the answer, Brick waited for a response.

"Uh, an erectile dysfunction medication increases blood flow to the penis...so it helps you get and maintain an erection. But, you have to already be aroused or it does nothing." I explained. "An aphrodisiac actually creates arousal."

Brick inspected the dart in hand.

"This one's strong?"

"Extremely."

He turned it, eyeing the liquid inside. The scarlet contents sloshed from one end, to the other.

"Interesting." He decided.

"Don't get any ideas."

"It doesn't sound fun to you?"

That dart sounded disastrous.

"No. And, I'm going to dispose of it safely. Give me that."

Brick got a look to him.

"Come get it."

"..."

I wasn't going anywhere near him. Not while he had that.

Nice going, Blossom. Hand the man a freaking dart filled will horny serum. I'm supposed to be the smart one.

"Brick." I kept at a distance, at the edge of my side of the bed. "I'm serious. I need to get rid of it."

"It's not deadly." He defended with fake thoughtfulness. "I don't see the harm in trying it out."

The safety cap came off, baring the sharp needle. It caught the light, glinting at me ominously.

"No." I warned. "If you stick me with that-"

"You'll what? Call for help?"

If he wanted to use it, there was no I was getting out of it without creating a ruckus. Which, I absolutely couldn't do. Not here. Not naked. Not with him. He had me trapped.

"Just a pinch, Babe." He bargained.

Suddenly, he got an idea.

"…or I could take it." He offered.

"N-No!" I declined the alternative immediately. "You really don't need any help in that department."

"It's either you or me. Pick."

If he used it on himself, it realistically wasn't my problem.

"If you use it on yourself, I'm not responsible for your hard on. You can deal with that on your own."

"Guess we'll definitely have to use it on you, then." Brick decided. "I'll take full responsibility."

Oh, what a model citizen.

"Brick, that stuff lasts for hours!"

I immediately regretted saying it.

"I've got nowhere else to be." Brick never lost that plotting gleam. "Come here."

My professor said it was safe to use… a pinch couldn't do much harm. I hesitated to come any closer, weighing the situation at hand.

"If you don't like it, you can get rid of it." Brick assured me. "But you won't know until you try it."

He pat his lap to beckon me over. I straddled his thighs.

"That's my girl." Dart ready, he brought the point to my collarbone.

"Wait." I stopped him. "Maybe, I should do it."

"I said one pinch." Brick gave me a level stare. "Don't trust me?"

My phone rang.

It was the emergency tone. In different parts of the house, I heard it echo back. A bank was being robbed and I had no choice but to get dressed and hurry over. The entire time, I stressed that Brick was home waiting for me with that dart.

Best case scenario, he talked me in to it again. Worst case scenario, I was getting poked whether I liked or not. I put too much attention on that, and not enough on the crime at hand.

"You tired or something?" Buttercup pried on the fly back home.

"I am, yeah..." I lied. "Is it that obvious?"

"You need a nap." Bubbles answered for her. "You seem distracted."

My room was empty when I got back. Fearing this was a trap, and he was hiding until I let my guard down, I dialed Brick's phone. It rang, and he answered.

"What do I owe the honor?" He greeted.

I didn't hear him anywhere in the vicinity. He really wasn't here. He...he left?

"Just curious why you left with no warning."

"Oh, that bother you?" His voice took on a twinge of satisfaction.

Oh, this prick.

"Literally just curious." I repeated, flat.

"No better time to sneak back out than when your sisters are gone." He explained his actions. "But, you're more than welcome to come here."

"You'd like that wouldn't you?"

Surveying my room. I noticed the dart wasn't anywhere in plain sight. I opened my drawer, it's original place, and found it missing.

"...hey, where did you put the dart?"

"Seeing as you're so busy, I took it's safe keeping off your hands."

A note of aggravation struck without warning. He took the damn thing without permission.

"You can't just-"

"Gonna turn me in, Blossom?" Brick drawled. "Hm?"

My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

"No?" He checked. "Somehow, I had a feeling."

"Could you not be a dick about this?"

"You would've destroyed it. And, I can't let you do that."

He wasn't wrong. Had he left it here when he flew home, I wouldn't have hesitated to destroy it.

"Do you enjoy making my life more difficult?"

"No. I enjoy getting my way. And, you." Brick nonchalantly enlightened me. "Sadly for you beautiful, they're not mutually exclusive."

Xxxxxx


	4. Chapter 4

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, guys! So, something I'd like to point out in terms of characterizations here. I've always felt that the Rowdyruff boys are evil reflections of the Powerpuff girls, not so much their evil opposites.

What I mean by that is, I think they're each very similar to their counterpart. It just boils down to their core values dictating how they use/display their personality traits. Example being: Blossom's book-smart. Brick's street smart. She's innovative, he's calculating.

They're both smart in their own ways. But, smart none the less. They just use their intelligence for different things and in different ways. Because, ultimately, no matter how high your IQ its irrelevant whether you're good or evil.

Smart is smart. You'll just show it differently. Two sides of the same coin.

Also, the song briefly referenced in this chapter is "Fuck love" by Iggy Azalea.

xxxxxx

"Did you hear about that lawyer who ran off with the mobster she was defending in court?"

At home, I placed a kettle on the gas stove. Buttercup was on her phone, having gotten the latest on the story apparently.

"I didn't hear about that, no."

"He was going to lose the case. She ran off with him." Buttercup elaborated. "It was that woman who owned the firm down on main street."

"Small world, seems like."

My sister read the developing case with poorly withheld judgement. It wasn't like her to really give much of a damn about things that didn't personally affect her in any way. However, the absurdity of the situation was what irked her.

"How the hell do you devote your life to upholding justice then go and have an affair with a crime boss?" She demanded.

"..."

The question wasn't aimed at me. My guilty conscience took over.

"People make bad choices every day." I stirred my drink at the counter. "Doesn't shock me."

"Can't believe it was her. When you think you know somebody...jeez."

Bubbles came in from taking out the trash with the actual newspaper left on our doorstep.

"That lady who works-" She started.

"We know." Buttercup cut her off. "I'm reading it on my phone now."

"Isn't it crazy? Like how does that even happen?"

They went back and forth about it. Their words turned to static in my ears. I tuned out.

xxxxxx

Flames consumed the forest park. Smoke billowed through Townsville Commons in gray clouds. A three-alarm fire.

My sisters were rescuing civilians. Screaming consumed the once serene scenery, people running every which way in their panic to escape the spreading flames. I blew ice, extinguishing what I could on my own.

Fire engines rolled in, blaring their sirens. Firefighters charged in to tackle this disaster before it destroyed the park or spread.

"How did this happen? Does anyone know?"

It took hours, but the fire was handled. The specialist couldn't trace back the fire to a barbeque gone wrong. Or, birthday candles. No faulty wiring could be found.

"Looks like arson. Someone deliberately set this fire."

We were diligently on the lookout for an arsonist at large, weary that they may strike again having gone uncaught. Sure enough, a couple of days later a fire broke out near the trailer parks. Two days later, a farmer's market. Finally, a school.

There were no causalities. We all counted our blessings for it. But, we still had no suspect. Our blessings could quickly dissipate at this criminal's will.

As firefighters hosed down the building, my sisters and I searched the city for suspicious activity. The sound of children screaming as they fled their classrooms haunted me that night. It rung in my ears.

People could've died. And they were still at risk. Every day we didn't catch the person, we were closer to tragedy.

The next day, the pressure pushed me over the edge. The city was too quiet. The silence was misleading. Everyone was in danger. I kicked alleyway trash cans in frustration.

"Fires all week? Tough break."

I hadn't realized I wasn't alone. I jumped hearing Brick's voice.

"What, he set the fires?" Leaning against a cement wall, he inspected the number I'd done on an innocent trash can.

"You think that's funny?"

Brick shrugged.

"Maybe." He decided.

"People could have died." I fumed.

Unlit cigarette held between his fingers; Brick brought it to his lips. He flicked his lighter, taking a drag.

"People die every day. The sooner you get over that, the easier life gets."

He flicked ashes to the ground. The ember clump landed on stray litter, setting it aflame.

"It was you." I accused.

"Me?" Brick snuffed the flame out with his sneaker. "What gave you that idea?"

On impulse, in anger, I closed in on him. I got right in his face. Brick took a leisurely drag off his cigarette without batting an eye.

"Easy there, Pinky." He drawled.

"Don't call me that." I snapped.

"Would red fit you better?"

He blew a heart-shaped ring of smoke in to my face. I blew ice back, freezing his cigarette in a clump of ice- tossing it across the alley way and shattering it.

"Awful frigid."

"Townsville isn't your ash tray." I glared up at him. "Smoke somewhere else, or leave."

"If I wanted this city to burn, I wouldn't need cigarette ashes to do it."

Brick conjured a flame in one open palm, extinguishing it in a flash.

"A little three-alarm fire is child's play. I'm not your arsonist."

"Then I'm wasting my time here."

"That so?"

"If you're not my suspect, I have no use for you."

He leaned in close.

He put another cigarette between his lips. He flicked his lighter, holding it just long enough to ignite his next smoke. The metal cap swiftly shut with a click, extinguishing the tiny flame.

"I almost wish I set the fires." Brick mused aloud. "If that's what it takes to get your attention."

Sirens went off in the distance.

Xxxxx

The tea kettle whistled. In a trance, I snapped out of it. I'd been staring in the flames beneath the kettle atop of the gas stove. I turned off the burner and poured myself a mug of tea.

I stirred honey in to my drink and took a sip. It was still too hot. I burnt my mouth. My sisters were still rattling on about the town scandal, oblivious to my mishap. I stood lost in my thoughts.

"Blossom?" Bubbles asked.

"Yes?" I looked up.

"It's Brick, isn't it?"

"W-What?"

"That lawyer's office, isn't it the brick building downtown?"

Trying to play it cool, I blindly reached for my tea.

"Yeah, it's the-" I accidently knocked the mug off the counter in my fumble.

Reflexively, I went to catch it and got scalding tea on my hand. Naturally, I screamed. I rushed to run it under cold water.

"You have ice breath?" Buttercup reminded me.

Feeling stupid, I shut off the tap and lightly blew on my burnt hand. On the floor, Bubbles picked up the pieces off the broken mug. I was shaking.

"...sis, you okay?"

That woman made the paper for days. She was all over the news and the talk of the town. Everywhere the mobster's name popped up, her named tagged right along with it.

Her reputation was ruined forever. She could never come back to this town the same person she left. I knew that woman. She graduated from my college. She was kind-hearted, responsible, smart, and all around a good person.

Legally, she'd done nothing wrong. Hurt no one. Never stole a dime anywhere. She upheld the law and brought countless people to justice.

None of that mattered anymore.

She didn't choose that man. I knew his kind; That man chose her. She fell for the charm, got swept away in the rush. Lived in the moment and gave in to temptation.

She paid the price. Her life here in Townsville went up in flames. Wherever she was now, I just hoped she was happy.

xxxxxx

When I showed up at Brick's with a pink, irritated, and clearly burnt hand, he found the sight to be peculiar. I rarely dealt with burns. I could counter heat pretty effectively. Under normal circumstances.

"Playing with matches?" He teased.

I pulled my hand in, tucking it out of sight in my side.

"I spilled scalding hot tea on myself."

"...really?"

It sounded like bullshit. But, I wouldn't lie about a dumb mistake like that. Making myself look stupid wasn't my prerogative.

"Yeah, really."

Brick took my wrist, pulling my hand back in to sight. Laying face to face, he inspected the damage.

"How'd you manage that?"

"I was distracted, I guess."

"You guess?"

"I'm really not proud of it, okay?"

I burned my left hand. It would heal in a day, or so. Had an average person made my mistake they'd have been in the emergency room.

Had someone else done this to me, they'd be in the same place.

"Can't let you out of sight lately," He carefully turned my hands, inspecting my palm. "You keep getting hurt."

"Some hair pulling and a dart are the least of my worries. I've been through worse."

Having my hair tied up all day put a lot of tension on my scalp. With my good hand, I let it free and combed it out with my fingers. Brick loosely curled a piece around his knuckle mindlessly, eyes on the TV.

Princess's twenty second birthday bash was being broadcasted live that night. She was having a blast, the center of the town's attention. Soaking it all in like she deserved everyone's time of day.

"It'd be a shame if it rained on her parade." Brick commented.

It was a VIP event. If you weren't on the list, you weren't getting in. The very few of us who had the means to crash the heavily guarded event weren't interested. Or, I thought.

"I'll be back." Brick sat up and swung his legs off the side of the bed.

"You're actually going down there?"

"Brat needs to learn actions have consequences."

Princess deserved to be knocked down a few pegs. Doing it on her birthday was unnecessary.

"Brick, tomorrow? It's her birthday."

"Like I care." He dug a black sweatshirt out of his closet, pulling the hood up and leaving his red cap on the bed post. "She wants my attention so damn bad. Well, careful what you wish for Morbucks."

Brick swiped his shades off his dresser, covering those red eyes that would give him away at a glance.

"Stay here."

He left without a word as to what he had planned. I waited until he was gone before following him.

"Borrowing this." I swiped Boomer's blue hoodie off the back of the couch on my way out.

"And, this." I went back for the glasses on Butch's head. "Thanks."

The two looked at the door, and then each other.

"...?"

Fuck love, give me diamonds.

Fuck love, give me diamonds.

Fuck love, give me diamonds.

Fuck love, give me diamonds.

I'm already in love with myself.

So in love with myself.

I'm already in love with myself.

Fuck love, give me diamonds.

With the music blaring, half of Townsville could feel the bass coming off Princess's massive speakers. The driveway leading in to her estate was piled with cars lined bumper to bumper. Security manned the front gate, ensuring that only invited guests were allowed in.

Sneaking in over the tall hedges, nothing looked out of place. People were outside dancing around the pool and yard, eating and drinking to their contentment. The party must have extended in to the house because the doors leading in to the mansion were open with people going in and out.

Whatever Brick's game plan was, he hadn't put it in to action yet or he was just getting started. My heart sank when the sound of a fire alarm went off, followed by screaming.

They weren't screams of terror, though.

What party-goers had been in the house fled out in to the yard. Smoke wasn't billowing out the doors. Everyone was just wet.

"He set off the fire sprinklers?" I shouldn't have found it funny.

It was juvenile, at best. Harmless. But, annoying in its own right.

Blending in with the crowd Brick went after the room Princess was in, sending a spark up towards the sprinklers. She came out screaming at the top of her lungs, drenched in water and completely disheveled.

So much for her designer outfit and make up. She overdid her face, but the clothes were nice- Gold sequent top with a leather pleated skirt. Leather ankle boots with two-inch heels. Giant gold hoop earrings. A high-end belt with a large emblem buckle. And, matching purse.

Wouldn't be shocked if she just threw the entire outfit away in a tantrum. The whole thing probably cost more than an average civilian's rent. My thoughts broke off as I felt arms embrace me from behind.

"Someone doesn't follow orders."

"What if I'd been the wrong person?"

"Did you think I wouldn't recognize my brother's hoodie?

This was Boomer's favorite piece of clothes. Brick would recognize it anywhere.

"What if I'd been Boomer?"

"Last I remember, Boomer's taller." Brick pinched the blue material, pulling it tight around my waist. "He doesn't have a little hour glass figure, either."

"Sucks to be Boomer, then."

He got a kick out of Butch's bold motorcycle glasses on my face when I peered back at him.

"Sucks to be Butch, too. You took these right off his head, didn't you? And, you really thought I wouldn't recognize you?"

"This was more so no one else recognizes me."

The party goers who had gotten drenched by the sprinklers decided to go swimming seeing as they were already wet. Some had brought bathing suits. Some were just in with their underwear. Half the party was wasted and throwing discretion to the wind.

One woman who'd had too much for the night whipped her bikini top off. Others followed her example. Not surprisingly, men gravitated towards them. They were suddenly very popular.

Princess came out in the tiniest bikini ever. She may as well have been naked. The shiny gold two-piece left little, if anything, to the imagination. At least it covered her nipples.

"That's our cue to leave." Brick decided.

"You sure you don't want to wait and see if she takes her top off?"

"Unless you're going to help me bleach my eyes later, no."

Brick took my good hand and we bolted away.

"You really flew across town just to set off her sprinklers?"

"I said it'd be a shame if it rained on her parade, didn't I?"

"I thought you would've done worse, honestly."

Flying back, we passed over a street downtown that was popular for its fast-food shops. The smell of food cooking wafted the air.

"You eat yet?" he asked.

"Me? No."

"C'mon."

Brick told me to pick what I wanted. We'd ordered from everywhere at some point, so I knew exactly what I liked and didn't like. Without having to think about it, I chose the pizza place.

Brick went down and ordered four large pizzas, taking his brothers in to consideration. The three could each easily eat a whole pizza themselves. The receipt taped to the box on top fluttered in the wind.

As predicted, the pizza never stood a chance. Cardboard boxes open in the living room, they quickly emptied and found their way in to the recycling. Butch and Boomer sat on opposite ends of the couch with an empty cushion between them.

In the recliner, Brick sat with me along one arm rest because I wouldn't sit in his lap with people around to see it. He watched his brothers play and I picked back up on a book that I left there.

Both Boomer and Butch got their stuff back. Butch put his glasses back on his head and Boomer pulled his hoodie on.

"Where'd you two go in such a damn hurry?"

"Piss off Morbucks."

"Sucks no one's crashed the limo with her in it, yet."

I didn't wish harm on her. I just wished she'd grow up. If Brick, and his brothers, of all people could control themselves then Princess had absolutely no excuse not to.

xxxxxx

I'm not sure if Princess figured out her party was sabotaged. By her dream man, no less. After her birthday, her father had the mansion's sprinkler system inspected chalking up the incident to faulty instillation or malfunction. I saw the repair company vans outside the estate on my way to work.

I flew over and unlocked the bookstore. Robin turned the sign from closed to open. We got an older woman who read a new book each week.

"What do you recommend this week?" She asked me.

"We've got some new releases. And our best sellers are right over there."

I went around the corner to help her pick something out, coming back and ringing her up as one of the more recent part-timers arrived. I handed the elderly woman her change and receipt, waving her off.

"Morning Blossom."

"Hey, Derek." I greeted him.

"What am I doing today?"

"Robin's in back taking inventory. Could you go stock the books that are accounted for?"

The brunette went to the same university as me. He gave a playful salute and went on his way, coming back out with a box of new cook books. I left to go check how Robin was doing in back and the phone up front started ringing.

"I got it." Derek yelled.

Clipboard in hand, Robin checked to make sure everything was adding up. I went back to the front and Derek wasn't in sight.

"...Derek?"

"Someone just called and asked us to hold a book up front." He called out. "I'm in aisle 3 grabbing it."

Aisle three was where we kept the fiction. Derek labeled the book with a sticky note for me and left it under the counter for when the customer came in, then went back to stocking the shelves.

"So, how's a famous Powerpuff get stuck working at some book store?"

This was a question I'd run in to time and time, again. Being a hero, people wrongly assumed retail was beneath me.

"I like books, I like people." I reasoned. "I appreciate an honest day of work."

"You're humble. Nice." Derek grinned.

"I'm really no different than anyone else."

"It's cool you're down to Earth. Celebrities normally have these huge egos."

Funnily enough, he brought up Princess.

"Do you know that rich chick who lives in town? Princess, or whatever?"

Robin returned from the backroom in time to catch that, and scoffed under her breath with dry humor. Me? Know Princess? Pfft.

"What's the deal with that girl, anyway?" Derek asked. "I haven't really seen her do anything but shop and party."

"Because, she thinks she's a celebrity. And, God's gift to Earth." I explained. "She doesn't work, go to school, or do anything productive. Just spends her dad's money all day."

Princess was worse than worthless. The only thing worse than unproductive was destructive. And, wasteful.

"I'll never understand people who are in to that." Derek shook his head, sticking the last of the books up on display before leaving for a different box. "Girl sounds like an airhead."

"You don't know the half of it."

I checked the store's email for any orders, hearing the door chime with a customer coming in.

"Welcome." I greeted, mid type. "Need help finding something?"

"I called about a book."

I paused, just peering my eyes up.

"What, I can't buy a book?" Brick lifted his shades, raising a brow at the look.

"...what book did you order?"

"It's a Father's Day gift."

That was highly unusual given the circumstance.

"Father's Day gift? For which one?" I reached under the counter to get the book.

I busted out laughing, clapping a hand over my mouth.

"You're giving Mojo a Curious George book?"

"I felt it was appropriate."

I couldn't look at the cover without snickering. Brick was the biggest instigator I knew. The guy up and disowns the man who originally created him, and then rubs salt in the wound with petty jabs to the chimp's intelligence.

"You really are an asshole." I composed myself and scanned the book so he could pay for it.

"I think you secretly like it."

"Wow, and you're delusional. Sad."

Brick slid a twenty-dollar bill across the counter. I doled out his change and put his receipt in the bag, sliding it back across the counter.

"Now go before someone recognizes you."

"I doubt that Robin's going to go tattle on us."

"I meant customers."

"Really doubt the old biddies, and baby-faced college kids who come around here have any clue who I am."

It was true. But, there was no need to take chances. To appease me, Brick dropped his shades back in to place at the very least. Now he was just a faceless red head that could pass for anyone.

"So, you're really just going to leave that in his mailbox this Sunday?" I resumed checking emails.

"You know it."

"That's mean." I scolded with a small smile. "Even for Mojo."

Derek came back out in to the store with a new box of books, hefting it over with a grunt and resting it down on the floor.

"Hey, Blossom. Did you hear about that new art gallery at the museum?" He asked from one of the aisles.

"The renaissance exhibit, yeah. I've heard great things about it."

"I'm friends with some art majors, we were all going this weekend. You should tag along with us if you're not busy."

I didn't think anything of it the innocent offer. Before I could answer, Brick gave a low warning.

"You're busy." He said it short, and not so sweet.

And, that was him being nice about it.

Derek couldn't hear the exchange. I couldn't see Brick's eyes behind the black shades, but I could hear the glare.

"...I made plans this weekend." I parroted. "Sorry, Derek."

"We could push it back to next weekend."

I didn't even gauge Brick for a reaction that time.

"...I've got a paper due." I lied.

"The museums always adding stuff. We'll figure something out eventually."

Derek didn't sound worried. Which he shouldn't have been for extending an innocent invitation to a Museum. But, this innocent young man drew himself a red bullseye at the back of his head, and he didn't know.

Brick tapped me under the chin to get my attention. I stared back at my own reflection in his shades.

"I catch you hanging out alone with him, I'm knocking his teeth out." Brick left me to work with a hushed warning. "I'll see you later."

xxxxxx

"...you looked a little tense earlier. Did something happen?"

"Brick came in to buy something and you know how he can be. Derek invited me to go see some art gallery, and... yeah. He didn't like that."

"He's so possessive. I don't understand how that doesn't scare you more."

"I can handle Brick."

Soaring through the sky, I piggy-backed Robin across Town. She hid her face in my neck, refusing to look down.

"Being scared of heights must suck the fun out of being friends with me."

"What do you mean?"

"I can fly. I feel like most people who can't would find this fun."

Robin held me tight, but not with a fearful grip. I'd never let anything happen to her.

"You're my best friend. This is fun...So, long as I don't look down." She defended. "And, hey. If you can't go to the Museum with Derek, can we go instead?"

"I'd rather go with you." I sincerely meant it.

Nothing against Derek. He was nice enough, but I wasn't friends with the guy. Just on good terms with him at work. I got along with all the employees. I needed to keep my distance from some, for their own safety.

Thankfully my best friend was a girl. Brick never minded Robin. I could never have had any male friends as close to me as her.

"We'll go next week-" Robin suggested when something side checked me with no warning.

Robin lost her grip of me and fell, screaming as she plummeted down. I dove in after her, not sure what hit us to begin with.

"W-What was that?" Robin clutched me hard, shaking from the twenty-foot drop.

"If I had to take a guess-"

I heard something approaching, just catching a glimpse of some metal contraption before it nearly slammed in to me, again. This time from behind.

"Blossom, what's happening?" Robin wouldn't look for herself, clutching me with a vice grip.

"I'm not sure."

I needed to get Robin to safety. That was my first priority. I wasn't risking another fall. If I didn't catch her, she wouldn't survive it.

Wherever these metal drones came from, they were advanced. Two more revealed themselves, circling us.

"Target locked." One began scanning me.

"Hold on." I told Robin before plummeting straight down without further warning.

She screamed in terror, wind whipping her hair back. This was a woman who didn't like the big rollercoasters at amusement parks. And, she was on the best ride there ever was. Without the choice to get off.

The drones scanned the empty air before searching for me again. In hot pursuit, I needed a way to get Robin back on the ground without endangering other civilians.

"Blossom!" Buttercup came flying with Bubbles right behind her. "Get Robin out of here!"

They zipped past me to deal with the threat. I tried getting Robin home, but a drone followed me. This was bad. In a panic, I pulled out my phone.

"I never ask you for anything but I need your help, right now." I got it out in one breath. "I'm flying over the city."

I quickly looked down, getting an idea of my surroundings.

"I'm heading towards downtown."

Not two seconds after I hung up, there was a stripe of red bleeding up in to the sky. I flew towards it as fast as I could.

"Take Robin." I told Brick. "Grab her, and get her out of here."

"What the hell is that following you?"

"Just grab Robin and go!"

Brick flew over me, snatching her off my back. With Robin being flown to safety, I turned back around and faced this thing following me.

"Target locked." It announced, completing its scan.

Both Bubbles and Buttercup attacked it at the same time, sending it soaring yards away. In short time, three lumps of metal sat along a roof lasered, beaten, and burned. We'd managed to stop them. Thing is, we weren't sure what the hell their purpose was. They didn't attack us.

Well, not all of us.

"You were flying for your life." Buttercup criticized. "These things don't even do anything."

"I was flying for Robin's life." I corrected her. "I'm up in the sky and this thing slammed in to me. Then two more show up and their chasing me. "

"They must do something, unless someone's just messing with us."

"It scanned me and said 'Target Locked'. This has to be a villain."

Bubbles picked up one of the damaged drones, inspecting it.

"It scanned me, too. But, it didn't say that."

"...same here." Buttercup chimed in wearily. "The hell did these want with you, Blossom?"

I didn't have an answer for them. I had my suspicions that I kept to myself. If this was Princess's latest attempt to get me, it was her lamest one yet. But, the sheer fact that Robin got wrapped up in it a second time left a rancid taste in my mouth.

She was at the Rowdyruff residence, sitting on the couch with her knees pulled up to her chest- shaken up and pale. Butch and Boomer must've been in their rooms because it was just Brick with her.

He'd gotten her a blanket at some point because Robin had it wrapped around her shoulders.

"Hey. You okay?" I sat down next to her.

"I thought I was going to die when I fell." She mumbled in to her knees.

"I'd never let anything happen to you."

Robin had no reason to doubt me. Understandably, she wasn't the most comforted by my words.

"Who sent those things?" Robin asked.

"This is the second time you got caught in the crossfire meant for Blossom." Brick interrupted. "That attack was obviously the brat."

"...is that true, Blossom?"

It made the most sense. Villains went after all of us as a group. Princess was the only one who singled me out.

"It has to be. Those things weren't interested in my sisters when they showed up. Just me." I gave Robin my apologies. "I think it's best that I keep my distance from you for a little while. For your safety. Just until I can get this situation under control."

Robin teared up. I felt guilty. We both knew I was doing the right thing. Brick, however, had a different take on the situation.

"You want to get this under control?" He pried. "Stop going easy on the brat."

I didn't like to entertain Princess's games. I only ever fought back enough to disarm her. Whether that meant breaking her suit, or tiring her out.

That wasn't handling the issue at its source. So long as Princess knew she'd walk away in one piece, she'd keep coming back for a rematch.

Xxxxx

ADDITIONAL AUTHOR'S NOTE: Putting this info here because I didn't want to spoil anything in the first author's note. Since Blossom has ice powers, I've always felt like Brick should have pyro (fire) abilities. In my fic, he does. So... *Finger guns* Also, some of you may be wondering why Brick uses a lighter when he literally is a lighter here.

Seems pointless? Nope! It's symbolic of his power. Restraint, specifically.

Remember, he gave up terrorizing Townsville for his pursuit of Blossom. As a pubescent teen, Brick relinquished his pursuit to destroy her. As an adult, Brick stepped down as an active force of destruction all together.

He has chaotic instincts that he refrains from/resists, because he knows Blossom won't humor him under any other circumstance. Once he decided that he WOULD get her for himself, he knew that there was only one way it was even possible.

ANYWAY! Thanks for reading! Shit's going to start getting serious now. *Does a little hop, skip, and dance off screen* Until next time, guys!


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